Today's homes may have one or more means for receiving and displaying content via a single display device. For example, various electronic devices in the home may be networked together in such a way to provide a user with a means for entertainment. While many of today's homes may have one or more means for receiving, storing and/or displaying content, such as media content, there still exist user experience limitations for many of these devices. For example, today if a user wishes to access media content stored on the home network from his or her digital television (directly or via a set-top box) the user experience can be awkward in many instances.
For example, many digital televisions do not have intrinsic networking capabilities. Here, if the digital television supports a mass storage device, the user can physically go to a source device containing the desired media content and copy the media content to the mass storage device and then insert the mass storage device into the digital television for viewing. Naturally, there are limitations on how many files can be viewed at a time and the process must be repeated each time new or different content is to be viewed on the digital television.
Alternatively, in another approach, the user may use a commercial Digital Media Adapter (DMA) as an intermediary between the digital television and the home network. Here, the DMA may deliver video and analog signals directly to the digital television from source devices, either in analog or digital formats, as appropriate. However, the DMA requires media server software to be running on the source devices storing the desired media content. In addition, the DMA typically has its own user interface in which the user must become familiar. DMAs of today are often viewed as being very difficult and unsatisfying to use.
In yet another approach where the digital television may have intrinsic networking capabilities and support Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) protocols, the use of a separate DMA with its own user interface may be eliminated. But, here, this approach still relies on the source devices in the home network to be running (at all times) the media server software.